Pontiac Silverdome implosion fails after initial blast

DETROIT (WJBK) - Sunday was supposed to be the end of era in Metro Detroit as the Silverdome demolition gets underway but the old building isn't budging.

Officials are holding a press conference Monday afternoon to discuss the failed implosion. You can watch live at www.fox2detroit.com/live, or on our Facebook page here.

A partial implosion of the Silverdome was supposed to happen Sunday morning in Pontiac. At 8:30 a.m., the first charge went off. There was supposed to be a secondary blast to bring down the beams, but the beams are still standing.

A city spokesperson told FOX 2 that "what they were told to happen, did not happen". The same spokesperson later said that the cutting blasts did not go off.

According to the demolition team, there will not be any additional blasts Sunday. Crews said the building could fall in on its own today. They said it could take hours or even days for the old building to give up.

Crews were to partially implode the mechanical equipment platform at the top of the 400,000 square foot building.

The first the blast is supposed to break the metal beams supporting the upper ring of the dome, which is a 20-foot steel band that held up the equipment used to inflate the roof. Then, each vertical beam surrounding the Silverdome will be broken when a small charge detonates, causing the steel ring to fall to the ground.

Crews will use hydraulic excavators to take care of the rest of the structure in sections.

A total of 1,800 tons of rebar and 1,700 tons of structural steel will be recycled at the city's Ferrous Processing plant.

The process is expected to take about a year to complete.

The weather for Sunday is looking favorable for demoltion, but if it has to be rescheduled it will be pushed back one week.

The Silverdome property sits on 127 acres and was last used as home of the Detroit Lions in 2001. It once hosted the Super Bowl, the Pistons, WrestleMania III, the World Cup and Pope John Paul II's visit.